  > — :   '  „»•«•,        *  ■•  / 


EXTRACTS  FROM  BISHOP  SPANGENBERG'S 
JOURNAL  OF  TRAVELS  IN  NORTH 
CAROLINA. 

The  Moravian  settlement  in  North  Carolina  dates  from  1753.  The 
first  Moravians  in  America  settled  in  Georgia  as  early  as  1735. 
Here  they  prospered  and  established  a  school  for  the  Creeks,  but 
on  the  outbreak  of  the  war  between  the  English  and  Spanish  in 
1737  they  were  compelled  to  bear  arms,  contrary  to  their  well- 
known  peace  principles.  In  1738  and  1740  they  removed  to  Penn- 
sylvania, where  they  began  settlements  at  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth 
and  established  missions  among  the  Indians  in  Pennsylvania  and 
New  York,  In  1749  an  act  was  passed  in  Parliament  to  encourage 
them  to  settle  in  the  English  colonies  in  America.  Among  several 
offers  of  lands  for  settlement  was  one  of  100,000  acres  from  Earl 
Granville.  This  purchase  was  made  in  1751,  and  August  Gottlieb 
Spangenberg,  one  of  their  bishops,  set  out  in  August,  1752,  to  visit 
and  survey  the  purchase.  The  examination  was  completed  in  Jan- 
uary, 1753,  98,925  acres  having  been  surveyed.  The  settlement  was 
called  Wachovia,  in  courtesy  to  Count  Zinzendorf,  the  founder  of 
the  church,  who  had  the  title  of  Lord  of  the  Valley  Wachau,  in 
Austria.  It  now  lies  mostly  in  Forsythe  County,  N.  C.  The  Mora- 
vians had  1734  members  in  Forsythe  and  Davie  Counties,  N.  C, 
and  45  in  Carroll  County,  Va.,  in  1890.  The  principal  town  is  Salem, 
which  adjoins  Winston,  a  town  of  recent  growth,  devoted  prin- 
cipally to  the  manufacture  of  tobacco. 

The  Journal  kept  by  Bishop  Spangenberg  on  this  journey  of 
exploration  has  been  published  in  part  in  the  North  Carolina 
Colonial  Records,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  1-14.  The  following  extracts,  trans- 
lated from  the  German  original,  now  in  the  archives  of  the  Moravian 
Brethren  in  Salem,  N.  C,  by  the  late  Rev.  R.  P.  Linebach,  are  pub- 
lished, with  the  exception  of  a  few  paragraphs,  for  the  first  time. 
The  Journal  seems  never  to  have  been  printed  in  full.  For  a  more 
extended  history  of  this  church,  see  the  account  supposed  to  have 
been  the  work  of  Bishop  Reichel,  printed  originally  in  Martin's 
North  Carolina,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  xxiv-lvi,  and  reprinted  in  the  North 
Carolina  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  1144-1163,  and  The  Moravians 
in  North  Carolina,  by  Rev.  L.  T.  Reichel  (Salem,  N.  C,  and  Phila- 
delphia, 1857).  Bishop  Rondthaler  has  been  engaged  for  a  number 
of  years  on  a  more  extended  history  of  the  church  than  either  of 
above.  The  following  extracts  were  kindly  furnished  the  Society 
by  H.  E.  Fries,  Esq.,  of  Salem,  N.  C. 


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Journal. 

Edenton,  Sept.  12,  1752. 

Were  I  to  tell  you  how  I  found  it  in  N.  C.  I  must  say  it  is 
all  in  confusion.  The  counties  are  in  conflict  with  one  an- 
other, so  that  not  only  is  the  authority  of  the  Legislature 
weakened,  but  also  that  of  the  magistrates.  The  cause  of 
this,  as  well  as  I  can  learn  from  both  sides,  seems  to  be  the 
following.  When  the  Colony  was  still  small,  and  weak,  the 
older  counties  were  allowed  to  send  five  members  to  the 
Assembly.  This  arrangement  continued  a  long  time.  When 
the  Colony  had  grown  much  stronger,  each  county  was 
allowed  to  send  only  2  men  apiece,  to  the  Assembly.  The 
counties  affected  by  this  law,  increased  in  number,  until 
they  had  a  majority  in  the  Assembly  and  then  they  passed 
a  law,  bringing  the  older  counties  under  the  same  arrange- 
ment with  themselves,  viz.,  two  men  only,  to  represent  the 
county.  The  older  counties,  hereupon  much  irritated,  re- 
fused to  send  any  representatives  at  all,  but  dispatched  an 
agent  to  England  with  a  view  of  having  their  rights  restored 
to  them.  Meanwhile,  until  this  matter  is  decided  they  will 
not  acknowledge  any  act  of  the  Assembly.  There  is  there- 
fore, in  the  older  counties,  a  perfect  anarchy.  As  a  result, 
crimes  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  such  as  murder,  robbery, 
&c.  But  the  criminals  cannot  be  brought  to  justice.  The 
citizens  do  not  appear  as  jurors;  and  if  Court  is  held  to  de- 
cide such  criminal  matters  no  one  is  present  If  any  one  is 
imprisoned — the  prison  is  broken  open  and  no  justice  ad- 
ministered. In  short,  most  matters  are  decided  by  blows. 
Still  the  County  Courts  are  regularly  held  and  what  belongs 
to  their  jurisdiction  receives  the  customary  attention.1 

1This  trouble  began  in  1746  when  Governor  Johnston  called  an 
Assembly  to  meet  in  Wilmington,  in  the  extreme  southern  part  of 
the  province,  instead  of  at  Edenton  or  Newbern,  which  were  the 
usual  places.  The  representatives  of  the  northern  counties  did 
not  attend  and  the  rump  Assembly  deprived  them  of  their  right 
to  five  members.  The  northern  counties  not  only  refused  to  send 
any  representatives  thereafter,  but  refused  to  pay  taxes  and  defied 
the  government.  The  matter  was  adjusted  in  1754,  when  their 
ancient  rights  were  restored  by  the  authorities  in  England. 


Extracts  from  Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journal.  101 

With  reference  to  the  Government  of  North  Carolina,  the 
following  may  be  remarked.  The  first  proprietors  were 
Edward,  Earl  of  Clarendon;  George,  Duke  of  Albemarle; 
William,  Earl  of  Craven;  John,  Lord  Berkeley;  Anthony, 
Lord  Ashley;  Sir  George  Carteret;  Sir  John  Colleton  and 
Sir  William  Berkeley. 

These  Lords  obtained  a  charter,  from  Charles  II  for  them- 
selves, their  heirs  and  assigns,  for  the  land  lying  North  and 
East,  beginning  at  360  and  30'  extended  to  290,  South  and 
West,  inclusive.  Furthermore  it  extended  from  South  to 
North  8°  and  30',  i.  e.,  a  distance  of  five  hundred  and  ten 
English  miles.  The  length  extended  in  a  straight  line  from 
East  to  West,  to  the  "  South  Sea."  All  the  "  Regalia,"  as 
they  were  called,  were  granted  to  them. 

Under  the  present  administration,  all  the  Proprietors  sold 
their  rights  to  the  crown  except  Lord  Carteret.  He  re- 
ceived for  his  eighth  that  part  of  Carolina,  which  is  bounded 
on  the  North  by  Virginia.  However,  the  "  Regalia  "  (Royal 
Prerogative)  and  all  pertaining  to  the  Government,  he  re- 
signed to  the  King. 

The  King  has  divided  the  whole  of  Carolina  into  three 
Governments,  viz:  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  and  North 
Carolina,  and  to  this  last  belongs  the  district  of  my  Lord 
Granville. 

North  Carolina  is,  nevertheless,  a  large  Commonwealth. 
The  situation  of  the  inhabitants  is  of  such  a  nature,  that, 
what  is  advantageous  for  the  northern  portion,  is  disad- 
vantageous for  the  southern,  and  vice  versa.  Hence  there 
is  constant  strife  between  the  northern  and  southern  por- 
tions of  North  Carolina.  Nevertheless  they  have  but  one 
Governor,  one  Council  and  one  Assembly;  yet  they  are  gov- 
erned by  the  same  set  of  laws.  This  condition  of  things 
occasions  endless  difficulties,  and  we  shall  not  know  how  to 
get,  and  keep  out  of  them  should  we  establish  ourselves 
here. 

Should  my  Lord  Granville's  district  become  a  separate 
jurisdiction,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  colony,  being  still  very 


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Southern  History  Association. 


young,  would  be  utterly  unable  to  bear  the  necessary  ex- 
penses, for  who  shall  salarize  the  Governor,  Secretary,  and 
other  officers  of  the  government  if  the  people  do  not. 

The  inhabitants  of  North  Carolina  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes,  some  are  natives  of  the  state,  these  can  endure 
the  climate  pretty  well  but  are  naturally  indolent  and  slug- 
gish. Others  have  come  here  from  England,  Scotland,  and 
from  the  Northern  colonies;  some  have  settled  here  on 
account  of  poverty,  as  they  wished  to  own  land  and  were 
too  poor  to  buy  in  Pennsylvania,  or  New  Jersey.  Others 
there  are,  again,  who  are  refugees  from  justice,  or  have  fled 
from  debt,  or  have  left  a  wife  and  children  elsewhere,  or 
possibly  to  escape  the  penalty  of  some  other  crime,  under 
the  impression  that  they  could  remain  here  unmolested  with 
impunity.  Bands  of  horse  thieves  have  been  infesting  por- 
tions of  the  state,  and  pursuing  their  nefarious  calling  a  long 
time.  This  is  the  reason  North  Carolina  has  an  unenviable 
reputation  among  the  neighboring  provinces.  Now,  there 
are  many  people  coming  here,  because  they  are  informed 
that  stock  does  not  require  to  be  ted  in  the  winter  season. 
Numbers  of  Irish  have  therefore  moved  in,  but  they  will 
find  themselves  deceived,  because  if  they  do  not  feed  their 
stock  in  winter,  they  will  find  to  their  cost,  that  they  will 
perish. 

We  are,  however,  informed  that  in  other  localities,  peo- 
ple of  quite  a  different  character  are  to  be  met  with — effi- 
cient and  energetic,  and  industrious  in  their  habits;  of  this 
we  will  know  more  by  and  by. 

P.  S.  After  having  traversed  the  length  and  breadth  of 
North  Carolina,  we  have  ascertained  that,  towards  the 
western  mountains,  there  are  plenty  of  people  who  have 
come  from  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania  and  New 
Jersey,  and  even  from  New  England.  Even  in  this  year, 
more  than  four  hundred  families  with  horses,  wagons  and 
cattle  have  migrated  to  this  state,  and  among  them  are  good 
farmers  and  very  worthy  people,  who  will  no  doubt  be  of 
great  advantage  to  the  state. 


Extracts  from  Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journal.  103 

We  have  had  opportunity  to  see  the  main  streams  in  that 
part  of  North  Carolina  which  belongs  to  Lord  Granville. 
We  have  not  found  one  which  may  be  strictly  termed  navi- 
gable. The  Chowan  and  Roanoke  are  large  and  deep,  but 
have  no  tide  water,  and  only  "  freshets."  They  are  further- 
more so  winding,  and  have  such  high  banks  that  sails  can- 
not well  be  used  here.  Hence  they  can  only  use  small  craft, 
for  navigation,  and  with  great  toil  and  labor  ascend  the 
stream;  and  in  the  event  of  high  water  and  rain,  they  must 
remain  where  they  are  until  the  water  subsides.  The  rea- 
son these  streams  have  no  tide  water  is  the  great  sand 
banks  which  lie  east  of  the  state,  which  impede  the  rivers 
in  their  exit  to  the  sea,  and  prevent  the  tide  from  coming  in. 
Sometimes  too,  they  change  the  narrow  entrances  which  the 
ships  use,  for  entering  the  rivers.  These  causes  operate  to 
make  it  difficult  to  reach  North  Carolina  by  sea.  Is  the 
Captain  unfamiliar  with  the  coast  he  may  easily  strike  a  sand 
bar,  and  he  may  do  so,  even  if  he  is  acquainted  and  experi- 
enced, as  the  sands  are  shifted  by  wind  and  sea.1 

Whoever  comes  to  North  Carolina  must  prepare  to  pay 
poll  tax.  Poll  Tax  is  required  from  all  white  men — master 
or  servant,  from  sixteen  years  of  age  and  on :  all  negroes  and 
negresses  pay  poll  tax  from  their  twelfth  year.  Whoever 
marries  a  negro,  or  Indian,  or  mulatto,  or  any  one  of  mixed 
blood,  his  children  are  taxable  to  the  fourth  degree  from 
the  twelfth  year  on,  and  the  female  Indian  or  negro  is  also 
taxable.  Should  this  tax  not  be  paid  to  the  sheriff,  by 
whom  it  is  demanded,  he  is  empowered  to  sell  any  thing 
belonging  to  the  delinquent  party  he  can  seize  at  public 
vendue,  and  after  keeping  enough  to  pay  his  own  fees  and 
satisfy  the  tax,  he  returns  the  remainder  to  the  party. 

In  every  county  is  one  or  more  Parishes;  these  Parishes 
have  their  vestrymen,  who  have  authority  to  impose  a  tax, 

1  This  shifting  of  bars  and  inlets  has  been  noticed  since  the  coast 
was  first  visited  by  Englishmen.  The  present  Hatteras  Inlet  dates 
only  from  September  7,  1846,  and  the  recent  failure  to  fix  the  foun- 
dations of  a  lighthouse  on  Diamond  Shoal  is  well  known. 


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Southern  History  Association. 


and  often  not  a  small  one,  on  all  people  who  live  in  the 
county,  whether  they  belong  to  the  English  church  or  not. 
The  Justices  in  every  county  can  also  lay  a  tax  on  every 
head,  for  building  Court  House,  Prisons,  &c. 

We  paid  a  visit  to  the  Tuscarora  Indians  who  live  on  the 
Roanoke.  They  live  upon  a  tract  of  very  good  land  secured 
to  them  by  act  of  Assembly.  I  suppose  it  contains  from 
twenty  to  thirty  thousand  acres  of  land.  It  is  twelve  miles 
long  but  not  broad. 

The  interpreter,  Mr.  Thomas  Whitemeal,  [Whitmell],  was 
kind  enough  to  go  with  us,  showed  us  all  their  land,  and 
made  us  acquainted  with  them.  He  has  been  a  trader 
among  them,  understands  their  language  and  speaks  it  quite 
fluently.  Now  he  is  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  about  here, 
and  has  an  excellent  character  among  all  classes.  The  In- 
dians have  no  King  but  a  Captain,  whom  the  whites  select 
from  their  midst.  There  are  also  some  individuals  who  live 
among  them  as  chiefs.  Their  number  is  small:  they  side 
with  the  six  nations  against  the  Catawbas,  but  suffer  from 
this  relationship  very  much.  They  are  very  poor  and  op- 
pressed by  the  whites.  Mr.  Whitemeal  is  their  agent  and 
advocate  and  is  much  respected  by  them.  No  efforts 
have  as  yet  been  made  to  Christianize  them.  They  gave  us 
a  message  to  the  Catawbas,  not  knowing  that  they  had  made 
peace  with  the  six  nations,  should  we  see  them,  "  That  there 
were  enough  young  men  among  them,  who  knew  the  way 
to  the  '  Catawba  Town/  They  could  come  and  go  in 
twenty  days:  that  they  had  remained  very  quiet  and  not 
molested  the  Catawbas  except  to  hunt  a  little,  and  they 
should  remain  quiet,  as  long  as  the  Catawbas  did.  Should 
they  however,  become  troublesome,  the  way  to  the  Catawba 
Town  could  soon  be  found." 

We  were  very  kindly  treated  by  the  Indians,  in  parting 
they  gave  us  a  greeting  for  the  Shawanas  on  the  Susque- 
hannah. 

As  yet,  there  has  been  no  reliable  map  of  North  Carolina 
published.    North  Carolina,  since  it  is  the  King's  posses- 


Extracts  from  Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journal.  105 

sion,  has  been  materially  changed.  And  since  the  part, 
which  bounds  Virginia,  has  been  ceded  to  my  Lord  Gran- 
ville, it  has  been  changed  still  more. 

I  will  give  the  counties,  into  which  North  Carolina  is  now 
divided.  In  my  Lord  Granville's  district  are: — Chowan, 
Currituck,  Perquimon  [Perquimans],  Bertie,  Tyrell  [Tyrrell], 
Pasquotank,  Edgecomb,  Northampton,  Granville  and 
Orange. 

In  the  King's  district  are  the  following: — Carteret,  Duplin, 
New  Hanover  and  Onslow. 

The  following  lie  partly  in  the  King's  and  partly  in  my 
Lord's  jurisdiction: — Hyde,  Bladon  [Bladen],  Baufort 
[Beaufort],  Craven,  Johnston  and  Anson. 

The  principal  cities  are: — Edenton,  in  Chowan  County; 
Wilmington,  Cape  Fear  and  Brunswick,  in  New  Hanover 
County;  Bathtown,  in  Beaufort  County  and  New  Bern  in 
Craven  County.  .  .  . 

November  11,  1752.    From  the  camp  on  the  Catawba. 

I  sit  in  my  tent  and  study  about  the  "  Patriarchal  plan  " 
followed  up  in  North  Carolina.  I  regard  the  circumstances 
here,  and  especially  contemplate  the  condition  of  the  In- 
dians. We  are  bordering  on  the  country  where  the  Ca- 
tawbas  and  Cherokees  are  found — more  especially  during 
the  hunting  season.  The  Senecas  are  also  to  be  met  with 
here,  especially  when  they  are  waging  war  with  the  Ca- 
tawbas.  Tis  worthy  of  remark  that  the  conduct  of  the 
Indians  here,  is  quite  different  from  that  in  Pennsylvania. 
There  the  Indians  are  not  feared  at  all,  unless  they  are 
drunk.  Here  they  conduct  themselves  in  such  a  way  that 
the  whites  are  afraid  of  them.  If  they  enter  a  house  and 
the  man  is  not  at  home,  they  become  insolent,  and  the  poor 
woman  must  do  as  they  command.  Sometimes  they  come 
in  such  large  companies  that  even  the  man,  is  sorely  put  to 
it,  if  compelled  to  deal  with  them.  Sometimes  men  do  like 
Andrew  Lambert,  who  found  traces  of  Seneca  Indians  on 
his  land,  and  in  his  corn,  and  found  that  they  had  killed 
and  eaten  some  of  his  cattle.    He  called  his  dogs,  who  were 


106  Southern  History  Association. 

used  to  bear  hunting,  some  eight  or  ten  in  number,  and  with 
his  rifle  in  hand,  he  drove  them  out  like  sheep  before  him, 
and  thus  rid  himself  of  the  nuisance. 

This  is  the  difficulty  when  people  live  alone  in  the  woods 
about  here:  they  are  in  danger  of  getting  into  unpleasant 
relations  with  the  Indians.  North  Carolina  waged  war  with 
the  Indians;  in  time  the  latter  became  worsted  and  in  con- 
sequence lost  their  lands.  This  created  a  bad  feeling,  not 
only  among  those  tribes  immediately  concerned,  but  with 
all  the  rest.  This  feeling  of  animosity  will  not  speedily  die 
out.  This  asserts  itself  on  all  occasions,  and  it  has  come  so 
far  in  North  Carolina,  that  not  only  did  the  Indians  rob 
the  people  of  their  stock,  but  in  some  cases  even  killed  some 
of  them. 

As  regards  the  purchase  and  taking  up  land  in  North 
Carolina,  every  thing  is  incredible  confusion,  and  I  cannot 
but  see  that  numberless  law  suits  will  and  must  be  the  con- 
sequence of  this  state  of  things.  If  a  man  has  possessed 
himself  of  a  piece  of  land,  and  has  improved  it  (even  tho'  in 
Carolina  style),  lo!  another  man  comes,  establishes  a  claim 
thereto,  and  how  is  the  claim  to  be  decided? 

There  should  have  been  from  the  commencement  of  the 
colony  a  Surveyor  General,  who  should  have  kept  an  accu- 
rate map  of  the  whole  district.  Whenever  land  was  sur- 
veyed and  sold,  there  should  have  been  a  return  of  it  made, 
and  entered  at  once  on  the  map,  and  thus  a  man  could 
easily  have  ascertained  what  was  vacant  land,  and  what  had 
been  taken  up.  But  alas!  Such  a  map  is  not  to  be  heard 
of  or  seen.  So  too,  old  patents,  issued  by  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors should  have  been  registered  before  they  had  come 
into  other  hands.  But  this  was  either  not  done  at  all,  or 
else  the  records  have  been  lost.  So  much  is  certain  that 
whenever  my  Lord's  Agent  gives  a  patent  he  has  always 
cause  to  fear  that  some  other  individual  may  come  up  and 
say  "  This  is  my  land." 

To  remedy  this  evil  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Caro- 
lina passed  an  Act  in  October  1748  (Vide  Law  Book  of  N. 


Extracts  from  Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journal.  107 

C.  p.  275) 1  according  to  which,  under  a  penalty  of  five 
pounds,  a  man  must  present  his  Patent,  and  have  it  reg- 
istered, and  whoever  fails  doing  so,  within  twelve  months 
after  the  passage  of  the  act,  losses  his  claim  to  the  land 
based  on  such  Patent,  unless  he  can  prove  the  Patent  to  be 
lost,  and  that  he  has  had  quiet  possession  of  the  land  for 
twenty  years. 

Orphans  and  those  beyond  the  ocean  were  allowed,  the 
former  twelve  months  after  majority  to  present  their  Patent; 
the  latter  five  years  from  the  date  of  the  act  of  the  Assembly. 

Mr.  Corbin  (Francis)  has  endeavored  to  remedy  some  of 
these  evils  by  requiring  the  Surveyors  of  every  county  to 
construct  an  accurate  map  of  his  county,  and  to  enter  every 
piece  of  land  that  is  taken  up. 

The  line  between  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  is  marked 
off  as  far  as  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  the  Boundary  line  between 
the  Royal  Domain  and  the  Granville  District  is  also  "  clearly 
laid  down,  in  his  eye"  and  is  being  wrought  out,  and  thus 
there  is  a  prospect  that  settlers  may  be  able  accurately  to 
see  what  land  remains  unsold. 

At  present  there  is  no  General  Surveyors  Map  of  the 
Granville  District,  in  North  Carolina,  nor  a  special  map  for 
the  individual  counties.  There  is  therefore  no  way  by 
which  we  may  ascertain  what  land  is  or  is  not  for  sale 
except  by  the  declaration  of  the  Surveyor  "  This  land  has 
been  surveyed,"  which  we  must  take  for  granted  to  be  true. 
Mr.  Corbin  himself  knows  no  more  about  the  matter,  and 
is  entirely  "  in  the  Dark." 

Should  the  "  Brethren  "  settle  in  this  country,  which  I 
hope  they  will  do,  they  must  at  once  have  some  one  to  in- 
struct them  with  reference  to  the  "  Land  Laws,"  as  there 
are  many  points  of  which  they  will  be  ignorant,  and  not 
apt  to  think. 

Any  one  living  within  three  miles  of  a  public  ferry,  and 
taking  a  man,  horse,  cow  across  the  river,  and  receiving  pay 

1The  reference  is  to  Swann's  Revisal,  published  in  1752. 


'  108  Southern  History  Association. 

for  the  same,  must  pay  a  penalty  of  five  pounds.  If  any  one 
neglects  to  have  his  marriage,  the  birth  of  a  child,  or  a  death 
of  any  member  of  his  family  registered  by  the  Recorder, 
must  pay  a  fine  of  one  shilling  for  every  month  that  he 
neglects  the  matter  (unless  there  is  a  clerk  of  the  church). 

Whoever  allows  a  stranger  (i.  e.  one  not  belonging  in 
North  Carolina)  to  pasture  cows,  horses  or  hogs  upon  his 
land,  must  pay  a  fine  of  ten  shillings. 

Whoever  buys  land  of  an  Indian,  without  special  permit 
from  the  Governor,  and  the  Council,  must  not  only  lose  his 
land,  but  must  pay  a  fine  of  twenty  pounds  for  every  hun- 
dred that  he  buys. 

The  boundaries  of  land  owned  by  individuals  must  be 
gone  over  once  in  every  three  years,  by  persons  appointed 
for  such  purpose: — the  marks  renewed  and  a  registration 
made  of  the  same. 

Whoever  kills  a  stag  or  a  doe  from  the  15th  of  February 
to  the  15th  of  July,  must  pay  a  fine  of  five  pounds  sterling. 

All  marriages  must  be  solemnized  by  a  minister  of  the 
Church  of  England,  or  by  a  Justice  of  the  Peace.  The 
latter,  however,  can  not  marry  any  one,  unless  there  is  no 
minister  in  the  Parish,  under  a  penalty  of  five  pounds. 
Should  any  one  marry  without  a  license,  or  without  publish- 
ing the  Banns,  there  is  a  penalty  of  fifty  pounds  attached. 

When  any  one  wishes  to  marry  he  must  go  to  the  Clerk  of 
his  county  and  deposit  a  Bond  for  fifty  pounds,  as  assur- 
ance that  there  is  no  obstacle  or  impediment  to  his  marrying. 
He  then  receives  a  certificate  which  he  presents  to  the  Jus- 
tice, who  gives  him  his  license;  he  may  then  get  married. 
The  fees  are  twenty  shillings  for  the  Clerk,  five  shillings  for 
the  Justice: — ten  shillings  for  the  minister.  Should  the 
"  Banns  be  published ",  however,  the  license  fee  is  not  re- 
quired. Should  the  marriage  not  be  performed  by  the  min- 
ister, his  fee  must,  nevertheless,  be  offered  to  him.  Who- 
ever marries  a  negress,  Indian,  mulatto,  or  anything  of 
mixed  blood,  must  pay  a  fine  of  fifty  pounds.  Whoever 
marries  such  a  couple  must  also  pay  a  fine  of  fifty  pounds. 


Extracts  from  Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journal.  109 

Whoever  is  nominated  by  the  County  Court,  and  is  not 
qualified  in  ten  days,  must  pay  fifty  shillings  fine. 

Whoever  finds  stray  cattle  in  his  "  Cow  pen  ",  must  put 
a  notice  on  the  Church  door,  or  at  the  Court  House  an- 
nouncing the  fact,  and  give  the  "  marks  or  pay  a  fine  of 
twenty  shillings. 

Whoever  uses  weights  and  measures,  not  stamped  accord- 
ing to  the  regulations  of  the  Court  (no  matter  how  correct 
they  may  be)  must  pay  a  fine  of  ten  pounds. 

Whoever  uses  a  "  Steelyards  "  in  his  trading,  must  have 
it  tried  annually,  and  receive  a  certificate  to  that  effect  or 
pay  twenty  shillings. 

No  Christian  who  is  brought  into  the  land,  can  be  a  ser- 
vant unless  he  has  made  a  written  contract  or  Indenture 
with  some  one. 

If  a  slave  or  servant  buys  or  sells  anything  without  his 
master's  knowledge  and  consent,  the  parties  dealing  with 
him,  shall  not  only  lose  three  times  the  amount  bargained 
for,  but  also  pay  a  penalty  of  six  pounds. 

Whoever  assists  a  slave  to  escape  from  his  master,  be  it 
much  or  little,  shall  serve  the  master  five  years,  as  punish- 
ment. 

Any  one  having  no  land,  that  goes  hunting,  or  shoots  a 
buck  or  a  doe,  loses  his  gun  and  pays  five  pounds  fine, 
unless  he  can  show  a  certificate  from  two  justices,  certifying 
that  he  has,  during  the  past  year  cultivated  five  thousand 
hills  of  corn. 

If  a  man  of  family  or  an  overseer  does  not  appear  before  a 
justice  (whether  summoned  or  not)  once  a  year,  and  render 
an  accurate  account  of  all  taxable  property,  before  the  first 
of  May;  also  the  names  and  ages  of  all  persons  of  his  house- 
hold who  are  taxable,  be  they  white  or  black,  shall  pay  a 
fine  of  forty  shillings,  and  for  every  month  that  it  is  neg- 
lected twenty  shillings  more. 

Should  the  Brethren  settle  in  North  Carolina  and  form 
a  separate  corporation  it  must  be  a  Borough,  Town,  Village 
or  something  of  that  kind,  or  a  County.    In  1744  my  Lord 


no 


Southern  History  Association. 


Granville  gave  over  to  the  King,  all  rights  and  privileges, 
which  are  called  Regalia,  and  consist,  viz:  of  the  power  to 
make  laws,  to  call  Assemblies,  to  hold  Courts  of  justice,  to 
appoint  judges  and  justices,  to  pardon  criminals,  to  open 
Ports  and  Harbors,  to  establish  customs,  to  lay  duties  on 
goods,  to  form  counties,  build  forts  and  castles,  and  cities, 
to  incorporate  cities,  towns  and  villages.  So  also  the  Gov- 
ernor, as  well  as  his  council  consisting  of  twelve  men,  is 
appointed  by  the  King.  The  Governor  is  under  restriction 
and  can  begin  nothing  new  with[out]  the  approval  of  at  least 
four  of  his  council.  If  the  Assembly  makes  a  law  and  the 
Governor  confirms  under  the  approval  of  his  council  it  be- 
comes a  law.  The  King  may,  however,  repeal  it  at  his 
pleasure.  .  ! 

With  regard  to  trade  and  business  in  North  Carolina  the 
prospect  is  not  a  very  encouraging  one.  In  consequence 
of  their  being  no  navigable  rivers,  there  is  of  course  no  ex- 
portation, and  that  brings  many  evils,  among  the  rest,  it  is 
the  cause,  that  Edenton,  tho'  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  this 
country  and  having  a  pretty  situation,  is  still  so  small,  being 
scarcely  a  fourth  as  large  as  Germantown,  Pennsylvania. 
There  are  other  cities  marked  in  the  Law  Books  but  they 
"  have  names  but  no  local  habitation  "  but  are  only  incor- 
porated by  Act  of  Assembly. 

There  is  much  tobacco  raised,  but  it  is  taken  from  North 
Carolina  to  Suffolk  or  Norfolk  in  Virginia.  It  comes  be- 
fore the  Inspectors,  i.  e.  persons  appointed  to  examine 
tobacco  that  is  to  be  exported — whatever  is  not  considered 
by  them  merchantable,  is  burnt;  the  remainder  is  exported 
by  the  Virginia  merchants,  who  pay  the  North  Carolina 
colonists  what  they  see  fit  to  give. 

There  are  also  a  great  many  cattle  taken  to  Virginia,  but 
the  North  Carolina  farmers  do  not  receive  the  profits.  The 
stock  is  driven  to  Virginia,  there  slaughtered,  and  the  far- 
mers are  paid  for  the  flesh  by  weight;  the  hides  and  tallow 
are  not  paid  for  but  kept  by  the  Virginians.  With  their 
hogs  it  is  so  too.    These  are  driven  to  Virginia,  salted  and 


Extracts  from  Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journal.  in 

barrelled  up,  and  sent  to  the  West  Indies  as  Virginia  pork, 
exchanged  for  rum,  sugar,  molasses,  &c.,  which  are  again 
sold  to  the  North  Carolinians  for  the  "  Cash." 

As  for  mechanical  arts : — there  is  but  little  doing.  In  the 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west  of  Edenton  we  saw  but 
little;  there  is  scarcely  any  one  who  works  at  a  trade.  In 
Edenton  I  saw  one  smith;  one  shoemaker  and  one  tailor  at 
work,  and  no  more. 

A  few  words  regarding  some  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way, 
should  the  Brethren  settle  here.  They  will  need  salt:  this 
they  can  neither  raise,  nor  manufacture.  Where  can  that 
be  obtained?  They  must  either  go  to  Charlestown,  which 
is  three  hundred  miles  from  here — The  distance  is  not  the 
only  consideration:  on  the  road  they  must  use  "stinking 
water  ",  almost  altogether,  if  they  even  have  that :  and  there 
is  further  more  danger  from  robbers,  besides,  which  makes 
the  country  insecure.  Or  else  they  must  go  to  Boring's 
Point  in  Virginia.  This  lies  on  a  branch  of  James  River, 
three  hundred  miles  distant.  The  planters  usually  obtain 
their  supplies  of  salt  at  this  place.  It  requires  several 
weeks  to  make  the  trip  and  the  road  is  very  bad.  Quite  a 
number  of  streams,  as  also,  mountains  to  cross.  Or  else  go 
down  the  Roanoke,  I  know  not  how  many  miles,  and 
then  they  will  find  salt,  which  is  brought  up  the  Cape  Fear 
River.  But  there  is,  as  yet,  no  proper  road  opened  for  such 
a  route. 


